Word Origin & History

positive c.1300, a legal term meaning "formally laid down," from O.Fr. positif (13c.), from L. positivus "settled by arbitrary agreement, positive" (opposed to naturalis "natural"), from positus, pp. of ponere "put, place" (see position). Sense broadened to "expressed without qualification" (1598), then "confident in opinion" (1665); mathematical use is from 1704; in electricity, 1755. Psychological sense of "concentrating on what is constructive and good" is recorded from 1916. Positivism (1847) is the philosophy of Auguste Comte, who published "Philosophie positive" in 1830.

Example Sentences for positiveness

But, my boy, your positiveness on this subject is extraordinary.

It was a sort of muffled wail, but there was no mistaking its positiveness.

But meantime, all we can say with positiveness is this: man, the created, is becoming the creator.

The positiveness of their beliefs was a special source of wonder to him.

"You want to get away without seeing him again," he remarked, in a tone of positiveness, as if the matter admitted of no doubt.

She varied her phrase, with the same incongruous effect of positiveness.

Well, at least he hadn't stated with positiveness that there hadn't been and couldn't be.

All things strive for positiveness, for themselves, or for quasi-systems of which they are parts.

"Oh, I can think of a dozen things worse," he rejoined with some positiveness.

"Of course," replied Johannes, with a positiveness that was a challenge.